ECRI Institute has released its new SELECTplus User Experience Network, which it describes as a comprehensive decision-support resource for medical technology purchasers with user satisfaction rankings and other key purchasing information. The User Experience Network is the latest enhancement to ECRI Institute’s SELECTplus capital procurement advisory service used by nearly 2,800 hospitals and health systems worldwide.

The first module focuses on CT scanning systems, showing rankings by vendor and model, feature-by-feature comparisons, market share and average quoted prices.

[See also: ECRI releases C-suite watchlist of top 10 hospital technology issues.]

“CT scanning has been one of the most widespread and useful technologies since the 1970s, and remains so today. Manufacturers have developed an extraordinary number of ways to adapt it, ranging from low-dose systems to equipment that combines capabilities like PET CT,” Jeffrey C. Lerner, president and chief executive officer, ECRI Institute, said in a news release.

“But when it comes to basic systems, our survey respondents find surprisingly few differences among competing brands and models as seen on the User Experience Network," he said. "This makes purchase price a more important factor in choosing a system than might have been expected.”  

Unlike other user satisfaction rating services in the industry, says Lerner, the SELECTplus portfolio draws on the expertise of ECRI Institute’s medical technology management experts, including radiologists, physicists, and financial analysts, as well as onsite laboratory testing of medical devices to reveal safety issues, alerts, and recall data on technologies being considered for purchase. The CT scanning systems module also includes deep market analytics and a comprehensive comparative analysis of CT dose reduction technologies.

[See also: ECRI analysis reveals HIT problems.]

“Hospital executives and purchasing professionals today need every bit of supporting data and market insight they can get, while keeping a focus on safety and quality,” Jennifer L. Myers, ECRI Institute’s vice president of SELECT Health Technology Services, said in a statement. “This user experience network adds a critical component to our suite of analytical and benchmarking tools that our members rely on to make cost-effective purchasing decisions.”

SELECTplus polled hundreds of end users of CT scanning systems currently on the market to develop the first module of its new data center. Nearly 300 users reported direct experience with one or more of 17 systems and rated them on a variety of criteria, including:

• performance
• ease of use
• image quality
• dose control functionality
• service response time
• user training
• vendor support

SELECTplus is conducting its next survey, profiling user experience of physiologic monitors. The resulting customer satisfaction ratings, combined with ECRI Institute’s analysis, will be available on the SELECTplus member website in July 2013.